Domestic helpers and carers, pay alarm: a quarter earn less than three thousand euro a year

The domestic work sector directly involves 902,000 employer households and 817,000 regular workers, for a total of more than 1.7 million people surveyed by Inps in 2024. If we also consider the irregular component, which reaches a rate of 48.8%, the total number of people involved exceeds 3.3 million, confirming domestic work as one of the most relevant and, at the same time, most vulnerable sectors of the Italian labour market. This is the picture taken by the Seventh Annual Report on this sector, edited by the DOMINA Observatory and presented on Thursday 22 January in the Nassirya Room of the Senate. The Report offers a picture of domestic employment, its economic and social impact and the main trends affecting families, workers and the country system.

With 902 thousand households surveyed, domestic employers in 2024 continue to decline, recording 16 thousand fewer (-1.7%) than in the previous year. On the employer side, the highest concentration is recorded in Lombardy (170 thousand) and Lazio (152 thousand), while considering gender, the female component stands at 58%. Almost all households are of Italian origin, while the foreign component averages around 5%. The analysis by age group shows a progressive ageing of employers: 37.9% are at least 80 years old, up from 35.9% in 2019, while 28.5% are under 60.

In 2024 there were 817,000 regular domestic workers, a decrease of 2.7% compared to the previous year. The most marked decrease concerns foreign men (-9.1%), while Italian men register a slight increase (+0.6%). Overall, the sector continues to be characterised by a strong female presence, amounting to almost 90%, and a majority of foreign workers (around 70%). However, aconstant growth of the Italian component is confirmed, which will exceed one third of the total workforce in 2024. The analysis of the historical series by type of relationship shows how 2024 marks the overtaking of caregivers over domestic helpers: if in 2015 caregivers accounted for 42.7% of the total, in 2024 they will reach 50.5% of the domestic workers surveyed by the Inps. In terms of age, more than a third of workers (35.7%) are in the 50-59 age bracket and more than 60% are aged 50 or over.

The economic contribution of domestic work is significant: the added value produced amounts to EUR 17.1 billion, or 0.9% of the national GDP. Italian households incur a total expenditure of 13.4 billion euro, which includes both regular and undeclared work. The analysis of annual wages confirms a strong concentration in the lower-middle brackets: workers with an annual income of less than 3 thousand euro are 24.3%, a higher share than those with an annual income of over 12 thousand euro (23.1%).

The economic commitment of families, the report highlights, also generates a direct benefit for the state. In 2024 alone, the use of domestic work resulted in estimated savings of more than EUR 6 billion, or 0.3% of GDP, avoiding the burden of institutionalised care for more than 800,000 non-self-sufficient elderly people. On the fiscal side, regular workers have guaranteed revenues of more than EUR 1.3 billion between contributions and taxes. If the share of irregular work were to emerge, the revenue could almost double to EUR 2.5 billion. 'We propose a set of structural measures that reward regularity and continuity of labour relations,' explains Lorenzo Gasparrini, DOMINA's secretary general. We are talking about the introduction of a cash back mechanism on Inps contributions, recognised in a gradual manner to employers who hire and maintain domestic helpers, caregivers, and baby-sitters on a regular basis; the partial and deferred transfer of a month's salary of NASpI as an incentive to stable hiring, linked to the worker's permanence with the same employer; and, finally, a tax deduction equal to 10% of the costs incurred for domestic work'.